The Devil's Angel
by Bleeding on the Ballroom Floor
Summary: What little love Tom Riddle can find in his sould jumps for the one girl he denied since he was 11... Riddle era.
1. Normal

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THE DEVIL'S ANGEL

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Competition. Achievement. Abuse. Hatred. Love. Riddle Era.

Romance/Drama

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Chapter One- Nothing Unusual

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Chapter Dedication- Sam/Susan/Fuddles. Because she knows Tom Riddle is a beautiful person.

A small group of Slytherin boys gathered around a single girl near the fire. Angel Miller. She had strawberry blonde hair that fell in loose curls to her waist and shining green eyes that changed colour in certain lights. In indirect sunlight, they were a hazel colour her friend, Lexi, called blonde. When it snowed or when she was looking at someone she didn't like very evilly, they were minty green. Most of the time, like at this moment, they were emerald-coloured and warm. She laughed at a joke told by one of the boys -that she didn't even understand in the first place- and leaned backwards over the couch she was standing behind, using her hands to hold her up and looking around to the other side of the common room.

A large, co-ed group (but considerably more girls) was clustered around a single boy, who was leaning casually against the cold stone wall between the two dormitories. Tom Riddle. The first person you see when you look at a group like that is Tawny. She's sulking around the back, very much a part and listening in, but not one of Tom's favourites. She had light brown hair and hazel eyes that gave away her every emotion.

Then there was a cluster of brown, black, red, and blonde hair that waved and shivered and stood so stiff they vibrated. Once in a while, they'll part; Tom tells them he wants a look at the rest of the Common Room. He did that now, and Angel's eyes met Sage. Sage had thick, straight, shiny black hair and blue eyes. She was Tom's passenger seat- always right next to him. First years think they're dating, but Sage wouldn't consider it. She once hexed Tom for thinking about it. _She_ ended up in the hospital wing, but Tom just had a weird soft spot for her and let her right back in.

Then her warm, emerald eyes turned to grey-ish green and met Tom's cold, hard, dark ones. Angel's arms gave way and she flipped backward over the dark silver couch. Tom laughed. Sage was hysterical. Tawny giggled. Angel scowled, and gave him her 'death glare' which actually has nothing to do with death unless you're a nervous first year Hufflepuff or Gryffindor… um, sarcasm there. Most people just cringed in fright, but Tom -who had an equally, if not more threatening glare- just stared coldly back at her. A chill ran up her spine. Someone helped her up. She never even turned to see who it was until a hand slapped her playfully across the cheek.

"Wha- LEXI!" she said, startled. She wheeled around to stare into the yellowish-blue eyes of her friend, Lexi Parker.

"You were goggling over Tom again. Snap out of it." her friend joked. Alexandra Wright-Parker had hair that was a kind of dirty blonde, more on the blonde side. And her eyes were a turquoise kind of colour, with blue but yellow speckles. She had a more muscular structure than Angel, and was certainly a lot tougher.

"I do not and have not EVER goggled over anybody's Tom. Marvolo. Riddle." Angel declared stubbornly. There was no end to the number of times Lexi had mentioned that. She was facing away from Tom and his group of people, but she knew he'd heard her. She also knew he despised his name and if anyone was going to call him they could say 'Tom' or 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' or whatever other thing he made up that week…

"_Sure_ you haven't." Lexi answered with the largest amount of sarcasm in the first word. Angel wasn't going to argue. It would take too long. She mumbled a 'See you' to Lexi before heading off to her dormitory for some rest, tripping on the bottom step with a last glance down at the group of people assembled nearby. Sage was laughing maniacally again, with Tom finding it very amusing but not enough to stop the conversation over.

"Pull yourself together, Ange." Angel mumbled to herself aloud. She walked up the stairs and turned by habit into her dormitory and collapsing on her window-side bed. While unchanging, there wasn't much to thought except the words to a song stuck in her head playing over terribly out of tune. It wasn't unusual that she tripped around Tom. It wasn't unusual that she could feel him looking at her. It wasn't unusual that Lexi suggested she liked him. It wasn't unusual that Tom was her enemy. It wasn't unusual that Sage showed pure hatred toward her.

After being in Hogwarts six years with Tom Riddle, not much was unusual.

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A/N: I redid this chapter about three times before I was happy with the way I portrayed them. It was really bad. First Angel was Tom's pet, then she was friendless, and that really wasn't how I wanted her (even if friendless people can be fun to write sometimes). I think I got the Sage/Tom/Angel hatred thing going on. Also, listen to 'Angel To You' by the Click Five- it's just a good song. They're a good band. I'm a fan girl. Um… still trying more genres here. Romance. So did I succeed? Did it totally suck? I'm WRITING IT ANYWAY! Muahahaha. It might actually be long… and I just had to erase half the author note 'cause I gave too much away. This is long enough for now, you don't want to hear me rant. Cheerio.


	2. Fear

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THE DEVIL'S ANGEL

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Fear. Love. Abuse. Hatred. Riddle Era.

Romance/Drama

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Chapter 2- Fear

A week later and Angel had tripped at least seven more times -one for each day. Sage had a chant- 'Don't be trippin'. Angel had a scowl and a death glare in her defence. And she had Lexi.

"Why don't you go and talk to him?" she'd asked one afternoon when Angel had sat purposely on the floor.

"About what, Lexi?" she asked, "What do I have to say to Riddle?"

Lexi smirked, "Deliberately using his last name to emphasize hatred will only get you hexed."

Sighing heavily, Angel pouted. Lexi was right, of course. Tom had a committee for that.

Tom had watched Angel's every move for the past week or so. He couldn't help it, she was just so amusing. When she sat on the cold tiled floor in the common room and argued with her friend about it, he couldn't help but break out into a grin and part the people before him to walk to the other side of the common room.

"Falling in love with the ground now?" he said, resolutely leaving out the need for direct address. She was, after all, the only one on the floor to begin with.

"No, it's you." Lexi mumbled very, very low. She was so sure no one had heard her that she didn't even bother to turn her head down.

"What was that, Parker?" he asked, his eyes still on Angel. Hers turned icy again and felt cold as the floor she sat on. At his glare, she wanted to meet the ground, but while she was already sitting on it she couldn't stumble.

"Go away, Riddle." Angel said, bolder than was really called for in the situation. The situation was Tom Riddle, and she was starting to get sick of it.

"Well, well, Murphy. Don't we have a death wish?" came Sage's voice from behind her. Startled, she turned halfway and swivelled her head around to look her in the face. Panic rose and adrenaline pumped through her veins. She felt like a first year Gryffindor, only first year Gryffindors didn't usually get themselves into a situation like this.

Angel got to her feet. She was still a good amount shorter than Tom, but she didn't feel so helpless and like she was about to be kicked. Her face was less than two feet from Sage's, when Tom decided to cut in.

"In case you haven't noticed, this is the Slytherin common room. We're allowed here, Murphy." he said coldly. She wheeled around and almost hit him in the face with her hair. He was so close… she could hear him breathe… Hearing Lexi squeal in the background didn't help.

She tried to bore her eyes into him, to scare him. That's how a death glare works. You use Occlumency, covering yourself with hate, and you dig deep into them, making them feel invaded. But when the person is doing the same to you, the only people it scares are outsiders. Tawny backed off from Tom a few feet at the sight of Angel's face. Lexi took a half-step back at the sight of Tom's. An electric charge seemed to run through them.

But Angel never turned as she usually did. Progress, it seemed, was actually being made. She felt a pulse, a heartbeat, short breaths, and thought; though her Legilimency was not advanced enough to understand it. One thing occurred to her- Tom Marvolo Riddle was a human. He pulled apart, cursing under his breath and looking at her with an expression she'd never seen before. What was it? It looked suspiciously like… but it couldn't be… not Tom…

Was he showing fear?

Angel shook the thought away. It was so absurd, for someone calling himself the 'Dark Lord' to show fear to a scrawny girl like Angel, armed with nothing but a glare, no match even for his own. And yet, it made so much sense. She'd felt like she was getting something. Had she been cleverer, she would have seen a part of Tom Riddle no one knew anything about. But she did see a part of him no one knew about. She saw past his hard shell. He was human, and he had fears.


	3. Chapter 3

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THE DEVIL'S ANGEL

Chapter Three- Sorting It Out

"Angel, what was that?" Lexi asked after witnessing the events of the day. She was smiling uncontrollably.

"What was what?" Angel snapped quickly. She knew what Lexi was talking about.

"You're really bad at this, Ange." Lexi told her smugly, "Denying you know what I'm talking about only makes me more sure."

"Or-maybe it-was denial-of-knowledge to fool-you into thinking-I'm-stupider than I-really-am." Angel said, running her words together purposely, "Or maybe it was procrastination."

"You know what you ARE good at, though?" Lexi said, raising both eyebrows, "Changing the subject. Now DISH!"

"No." answered Angel.

"No?" Lexi asked, her brows now furrowing.

"No, Lexi." she said stubbornly.

"Why?" came Lexi's small voice.

Angel took a deep breath, "Because I found out something."

"Your undying love for Tom?" she asked apprehensively, her eyes widening.

"No." Angel said softly. She had used that word often in the past few minutes.

"Then what, Angel?" Lexi asked warily and confusedly.

"Fear." Angel whispered, barely loud enough to be considered a sound. She wasn't sure if Lexi had heard her, but decided she didn't care. She got up and took her Moontrimmer with her. She wasn't on the team with a broom like that, but flying calmed her down a lot and helped her sort things out.

There was just something about self-made wind whistling in your ears and forgetting to bring a cloak that is really soothing. It was a breezeless night but Angel was going fast enough for her to feel the impact of the air, which was cool and frigid and bit at her bare skin.

There was enough to sort out, that was for sure. Tom Riddle had showed her, Angel Miller, Slytherin bitch and the girl with many of the boys surrounding her, fear. Tom Riddle, who opened the Chamber of Secrets as the heir of Slytherin, spoke Parseltongue, owned Hogwarts, called himself Lord, and demanded respect, had showed skinny, scrawny, unintelligent Angel Miller fear. Angel Miller was shown fear by Tom Riddle. She put it so many ways she made her head spin. Or maybe it was the fact that she was flying in circles.

But why? Why was Tom afraid? What was he hiding? Why had Angel been so bold? Why had she kept eye contact? Why had she been able to stand her ground?

Because of Tom. Tom was Tom and that was all that could be said for him. He hid that he was human underneath a shell. He hid part of his soul in a ring, but Angel didn't know that. She didn't know why he hid himself, or what he was hiding. She only knew he wasn't too far gone to be unreachable. And she knew Lexi was right.

She almost fell off her broom at that thought, but knew it was fact in her mind… no, not her mind. Her heart. Angel cared, in the first place, that Tom was not too far gone to be unreachable. She cared, and she wanted to be the one to reach it. Her heart, which had seemed to forget to beat as she was hanging upside down from her broom clinging to it with her knees, started pounding furiously against her rib cage. It was cold as the air outside.

She did a few simple moves and wished she'd tried out for the team this year -her last year- at Hogwarts. Then she retreated back to the Slytherin common room for some peace of mind.

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"You know, Tom, there's something weird about the Miller girl." Sage's voice came. It was cold and crisp, like a glass of cool water on a hot day.

"What d'you mean?" Tom asked her curiously, looking at her with all his attention, and yet he seemed a little far away.

"She sees you and she trips. She stares at you and you look away. She's the subject of conversation and all of a sudden you ask questions." she told him in a hard voice.

Tom's shoulders relaxed though he didn't even know they were tense to begin with. Sage was right, of course. He remembered the first day he met Angel. It was then too that he had been the first to look away. It was right after they were Sorted; he was sitting at the Slytherin table, next to Angel.

She'd turned to him, eyed him for a moment, then stuck out her right hand, "Hi, I'm Angel Miller." she'd said. He eyed her, first seeing her almost-red hair and getting distracted, then finding her emerald green eyes. He stared at them for a moment and found what she really was… a rebel spirit. He couldn't control her, nobody could. So he up and left, leaving her sitting there slightly confused but with the general message.

After that, Angel had tried at least three times to gain Tom's friendship, and each time he denied openly. It formed over the course of six years into a kind of great dislike. He laughed at her every upturned flaw, in wonder that she had so many openly. Tom had changed his idea of why she wasn't his friend to the sheer fact that she was an idiot. A dumb blonde.

But that she wasn't. She got decent grades. Very decent, in fact, and the only reason she wasn't top was because of Tom. And it wasn't only that she was book smart either. She knew when she went overboard and that's how she formed a withstanding friendship with Lexi. She knew how boys minds worked -every boy except for Tom, at least- and was able to please them and disappoint them and manipulate them however she wanted.

Sage stared. And stared. And stared. Tom was lost in thought, and his expression was so readable it scared her. He was smiling faintly, the creases of his eyes were turned up. He was blissful and that was not the Tom she had come to know. "Tom? _Tom?_" she called. Her voice was sharp as a blade. He shook physically.

"Yeah?" he said, unabashed.

"Lets add that to the list, shall we?" she said, conjuring parchment and a quill out of thin air, "Spacing out." she muttered as she wrote. She took a minute out of the conversation to form her list.

"Have you noticed it's more me than her that you're writing about?" Tom asked her incredulously.

Sage purposely dropped the parchment and quill and set down the ink. "Interaction, Tom. She trips, you ask questions, she stares, you look away, you get tense, she fights with Lexi- it all happens for the same reason. You're on the subject of her. She's on the subject of you. And neither of you are doing well with it."

Tom just raised his eyebrows. For what he was almost sure was the first time in his life, he was proven wrong. Though, deep inside, he'd known the answer. He just hated having it come out of Sage's mouth. He was silent for a moment before he asked, "What d'you reckon?"

"As much as I hate it, I reckon Parker had the right idea." she said coolly, and left the common room for her dormitory.

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Lexi was sitting on her bed, staring at the floor with great concentration, "Fear?" she asked out loud for the third time since Angel had left. She didn't get it. Who was afraid? Angel? Lexi? Tom? Couldn't be Tom… not Tom _Riddle_…

Sage burst in, the door opening rather loudly. "Parker." she greeted.

"Sage." Lexi mumbled.

"Have you been talking to Angel?" Sage asked her cautiously. Lexi looked at her, her head cocked slightly.

"Have you been talking to Tom lately?" she asked, almost positive they were on the same track.

"Yes." the two responded in unison.

Lexi turned her head toward the window, "She's been acting weird."

"He's been acting weird." Sage agreed, kind of, "Hey, do you really think Angel likes Tom? Not to sound like a gossip girl, but…" She knew Lexi was a people-watcher. She could read people almost as well as Tom could, only she didn't need eye contact -it helped, though- to see anything.

"Actually I do. For the longest time, Angel thought I was joking. But I'm not." Lexi started a wise sounding little paragraph, "I see it in her eyes. Angel's shortness of breath. Her hair even seems to stand more on end when he's nearby. What do you think of Tom?"

"If you're talking body language," Sage thought. She'd never really considered it all that much and for that, she gave Lexi props, "He breathes slower. His chest seems to heave more. His hair get the slightest bit untidy -noticeable only to his closest. His eyes get shifty. His laughter seems stifled lately, too."

Lexi grinned. She was right, and she knew it. "Thanks for reading Tom for me." she told Sage sharply, and threw the curtains around her four-poster bed. She snuck underneath it, took a hard quill and lit her wand. She found the spot, and started to write into the soft wood 'I knew I was right about Angel and Tom.'

She smiled at her work and climbed back up into bed. She heard Angel come in, but ignored her. Usually, she would have pulled open her curtains and yelled 'Boo!' but tonight was different. From under her covers she muttered, "I was right, Angel."

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A/N: Okay… Sorry if updating seems choppy (every two weeks, three more chapters or something like that). I would do it regularly, but I'm barely keeping up with writing at all. And getting grounded with a ban from the computer doesn't help either.


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